The
Chancellor Gordon Brown has unveiled a family friendly Budget this
afternoon.
He
announced that that maternity pay will be raised to £75 next year and then
increased to £100 in 2003. The Government will also extend maternity leave from
18 to 26 weeks in 2003.
Paid
paternity leave will definitely be introduced at £100 per week, as proposed
last December.
The
Government confirmed that a £1,000 new baby tax credit will be introduced for
families with earnings below £50,000 from April 2002.
He also announced that from June this year the Working
Families Tax Credit will rise by £5 a week.
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